Current bishop of Rome sets out to shake up Church
WND
NEW YORK – “Is the pope Catholic?” goes the quip most Catholic faithful thought they would never ask … at least not seriously.
But with a series of recent pronouncements and decisions bucking papal tradition, Pope Francis has many Catholics wondering if the Catholic Church will survive his papacy.
In recent days, the Pope has declared that non-believers – not just non-Catholics, but even atheists – can gain salvation and be admitted into heaven, while his new appointment to be secretary of State, the second most important position in the Vatican, has suggested the Vatican is ready to rethink celibacy and the clergy, suggesting priests and nuns might be allowed to get married.
Now, Catholic faithful are asking, “Will the Catholic Church survive Pope Francis’ papacy?”
Is homosexuality a sin?
The shock to traditional Catholic thinking began when Pope Francis decided to go to the back of the airplane and give an interview to news reporters on the return home from Brazil on his first international trip as pope.
Instead of saying that homosexuality is “an intrinsic moral evil,” as did his predecessor Benedict XVI, Francis responded to a reporter’s question, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”
Can atheists be saved?
Then, on Sept. 11, in a letter published on the front page of the Rome-based newspaper La Repubblica, Pope Francis answered a question posed by the paper’s founder and long-time editor, the 89 year-old Eugenio Scalfari, who asked whether God would forgive someone who lacked faith for having committed a sin.
The pope’s answer suggested that not only does God not require belief in Jesus for salvation, but God does not even require belief in God.
Reposted with permission.
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